New York will temporarily ban the construction of large new data centers.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an order pausing the construction of new ultra-large data centers. The ban takes effect immediately and applies to data centers with power consumption of 50 megawatts or more. Earlier, a study cited by Fortune reported that the rapid expansion of AI data centers in the U.S. has driven a sharp rise in public power costs. PJM Interconnection, the grid operator overseeing 14 states in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, estimates that the new power demand from data centers will lead to an additional $230 billion in costs for electricity users, with the impact lasting at least until the end of 2028. The report notes that while several major tech companies have pledged to cover the cost of new power infrastructure, costs for public facilities such as transmission lines, substations, and grid upgrades are typically shared uniformly by regulators, meaning some expenses may still be passed on to residents and general commercial users. The study also points out that some data centers can reduce power usage during grid peak hours by flexibly adjusting their load, thus cutting grid costs allocated based on peak load. However, these facilities still consume large amounts of electricity, resulting in their actual cost burden being lower than the pressure they exert on the grid.